


A Promise Made

by petalouda85



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 17:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5834677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalouda85/pseuds/petalouda85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux and Kylo have defected from the First Order seven years ago and have spent six of those years on Tatooine with their son. Even after all those years, the fear of the Order finding them never went away. (A horrible summary, I know.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Promise Made

However they managed to remain hidden from Snoke and the First Order for this long, Kylo had never known. Nearing the 7th year of defecting from the Order, the former Master of Ren believed that either the Force or some other unknown power had to have kept the Supreme Leader from searching Tatooine for him, Hux and their son. Either that or the sheer remoteness of the planet had made them think it was not worth searching.

Tatooine was not the ideal planet - hot, little to no civilization, and very little water – but they had managed to make a living for themselves as scavengers, plundering ships and ruins of cities long gone for goods to sell. It was a risky business, especially with a seven year old boy to take care of, but it kept them feed and, in turn, happy.

Even though he barely had any material possessions, Kylo was the happiest he had been in seven years. Never in his time on the Finalizer did he think Hux would turn out to be the love of his life and that they would have a beautiful boy that he loved just as much as he loved Hux.

They had adopted Anakin on Dantooine a year after defecting from the First Order. While living in the poor areas of one of the major cities (to avoid detection), they had found Anakin with his dead mother, the woman cut down in a backwards alley. The child had been howling, crying for warmth and food. Drawn to the cries from their recent acquirement of compassion, the two men took the one year old boy to their own home. At the time, they had no intention of keeping him and planned to hand him off to the first family that wanted to take him. It was unfortunate that less than a week later, the First Order came to the planet searching for the two of them. Left with little choice, Hux and Kylo took the child with them onto the ship they had taken when defecting and left the planet. On route to the next planet, Kylo unintentionally grew fond of the little boy, sensing something about him. He grew so fond of him that when they reached Tatooine, the former knight wanted to keep him. Hux was a little less certain, knowing that neither of them had the means of feeding the baby, let alone knew how to properly take care of one for an extended period of time. He relented though, after seeing the state of Tatooine and growing a soft spot for the boy.

The first year on Tatooine was particularly challenging. They barely received any help from the non-human inhabitants, the vaporizer from where they got all their water malfunctioned frequently, Anakin suffered from heatstroke on a regular basis, and the scavenged items they brought to the trading post didn’t yield much food, often leaving one of the adults with an empty stomach in order to feed the child. Near the end of that year, they had no food and the scavenging had brought up nothing for the past two weeks. Desperate to feed both Anakin and themselves, the two adults decided to sell Kylo’s precious lightsaber; it yielded enough food for an entire year. From that point on, things got progressively better for the family.

Kylo was scavenging in the ruins of an ancient Tatooine city, thinking he could potentially find some gold or other goods hidden among the sand and stones. He had taken Anakin with him, the boy following him like a shadow, carrying the lighter items they had found earlier that day as well as their water canteens in a rucksack while Kylo carried the heavier items on his back. Although they were teaching him how to scavenge, they were doing it slowly, having the child scour for items on ground level or having him look around in spaces where Hux and Kylo couldn’t fit in.

“Dad?” Anakin called, tugging on the man’s clothing. Kylo turned around and looked at his son.

“What is it, Ani?” The boy pointed to what appeared to be an archway of some kind, majority of it hidden under sand. Upon looking more closely, it would seem that it was the pathway of an indoor river.

“Do you think there is something on the other side?” The boy asked.

“Maybe.” Kylo began digging the sand aside, relieved to see that light came spewing out from the other side.

“Can I go look?” Anakin asked, nearly bouncing from the excitement. Seeing that he had no idea what was on the other side, Kylo didn’t want his son to go in there by himself but the archway was much too small for him to fit through.

“Alright. But be quick about it, okay?” The boy nodded and climbed into the tiny tunnel. “Is something there?” Kylo called through the tunnel when he saw the child was out.

“It’s some kind of big room.” He called back. “Maybe a throne room?”

“A throne room?”

“Yeah, there’s a really big chair of stone and a very large door too.” Kylo heard a few loud bangs, knowing from the sound that Anakin was likely banging on the door. “It’s locked.”

“Just come back through here. We can come back and look around tomorrow.”

“Okay.” The boy called. Kylo heard the pitter patter of his running and watched as the child came crawling back through the tunnel. “Dad! Dad!” he called through, his tone suggesting he was about to explode from excitement, “Dad, look what I found!” As soon as he was out of the tunnel, his clothing shedding sand, he held up a necklace made of gold. Kylo gawked at the sight of the necklace. That was at least worth forty portions! The man let out a laugh of victory and ruffed the boy’s strawberry blonde hair.

“Good job, Ani! You’ll make a fine scavenger one day.” He praised, embracing the boy tightly. In all honesty, Kylo didn’t want his son to become a scavenger. It was not a secure job and whether or not you had food was all down to luck. Besides, the boy was not scavenger material. It was a harsh job that required harsh personalities; Anakin did not have that. The merchant had more than once taken advantage of the child’s politeness and shyness, giving the child one portion for an item worth five. To ensure it didn’t happen, they made sure that either he or Hux were with him when the trade happened. Unfortunately, this was not something they could do forever.

When they went to the post a few hours later, Kylo could see that the merchant’s mood was ripe for tricking his son so he remained close. When it eventually was their turn, Anakin put all his items on the counter first, keeping the necklace in his bag. The merchant looked at each item and carefully considered their worth.

“Half a portion for you today. Unless you got something better than this junk.” He grumbled, slamming the tiny package onto the counter. His face falling from disappointment, Anakin looked up at his father and the man nodded. The child reached into his bag and held up the necklace.

“How much is this worth?” He asked, handing it to the merchant. He stared at the necklace in awe, looking at each possible angle as if he didn’t believe it to be made from gold. After his initial examination, he reached under the counter and began grabbing pile after pile of portions.

“50 portions for the necklace.”

“Thank you!” The child squealed, eagerly grabbing the portions and shoving them into his bag. Kylo couldn’t help but smile at the child’s eagerness but it disappeared as soon as it was his turn to turn in his items, which yielded one portion.

“I don’t think the merchant likes me.” Anakin said as they walked away from the post to head home.

“What makes you think that?”

“He’s so rude.”

“That he is.” The man concurred, pulling the child to him and embracing from the side. “But he just can’t stand the fact that you’re such a wonderful boy and scavenger.” The child gasped and stared at the man.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I’m the best scavenger in the galaxy!” He shouted, his voice echoing many times into the sandy distance. They made jokes about the merchant the rest of them way, stopping when they came to the hill that lay close to their home. Once around, Anakin dashed downwards towards the little house in the distance. “Dad!” Anakin called to the figure moving around the outside of the house. The figure stopped and waved to the boy. He kept running, nearly tripping once but he quickly regained his footing, running into the open arms of Hux an embracing him tightly. The man picked him up and held him close. “Did you miss me?”

“Very much.” Hux replied, kissing the boy’s cheek.

“Dad, you’ll never guess how many portions I got today!” Anakin exclaimed once Hux put him back down.

“How many?” The redhead asked eagerly. Anakin opened up his bag and showed the stack of portions.

“50!”

“What in the name of the Force did you find that you got that many portions?” Hux exclaimed; the last time they had a yield like this was when they sold the lightsaber.

“A gold necklace.” The child announced proudly and proceeded to explain about the ruins and how they had found the necklace. “Before I forget.” He said once he was done with the story, beginning to rummage through his bag. “I found this too and I wanted to give it to you.” He placed a gold ring in Hux’s hand. The man nearly shed a happy tear and he put the ring on with a beaming smile.

“Thank you.” After he kissed the child’s cheek, Anakin ran into the house to put away his loot for the day. The two adults watched him dash away before they greeted each other with a tender kiss.

“I haven’t seen Ani this excited since the day he found out he could use the Force.” Hux commented. Kylo nodded in agreement, looking through the window into their house, where he saw Anakin dash around. His attention was pulled away from the child when Hux spoke again. “Did you find anymore gold in there?” He inquired.

“Not that Ani could find. Why do you ask?” Kylo could’ve just read Hux’s mind but he had promised the man he would never do that to him. Besides, he had rarely used the Force since coming to Tatooine; the only times he did was to give demonstrations to Anakin when teaching him how to use the Force, which was something he did at a minimal rate. He didn’t want to risk his son turning out like him.

“If there’s enough gold there, we can barter passage on a ship and get out of here. Start new. This life has kept us alive and feed but it’s not a life I want for Anakin. I want to be able to go to sleep without worrying whether or not he’s safe from the Order or if there’ll be food in his belly.” Kylo sighed. Hux had a point and a valid one. This lifestyle was not ideal but helped them survive for the past years. Leaving would mean starting from the bottom once more and running the risk of Snoke detecting them.

“Where can we possibly go where the First Order won’t find us?” He tried to reason, “We’re in the most outer rim of the galaxy; if we go in, they’ll find us.”

“Ge.” Was all Hux answered.

“Ge?” Kylo had never heard of the planet.

“It’s a planet in the Barth system.” Hux explained, “I was born there and a close friend of mine is the Queen; she’ll help us.”

“The Barth system? We may as well paint a target on our chests.” The system was closer to the center and was close to both the New Republic and the base of the First Order. It would be near impossible to travel that far without being detected.

“I know it’s risky.” Hux acknowledged, “And it would take a lot of money to make sure they don’t hand us off to the first Order ship but if we do make it, we’ll be safe. Ge is protected by a shield infused with a rare metal that is nearly impenetrable.”

“Nearly?” Kylo repeated, not at all comforted by the word.

“It can’t be penetrated by anything at the disposal of the First Order.” Hux assured. “I know because I’ve tried to do it.”

“Do you have a solid plan on what to do should we run into the First Order?” Kylo asked. If Hux could answer him ‘yes’ with absolutely certainty with this question, he would not hesitate to go to Ge. Hux smirked proudly.

“Several actually.” He announced.

“Alright.” Kylo said after a moment, nodding, “Let’s do it.” After sharing a kiss, he grabbed his bag and went to the vaporizer to refill his canteen.

“Going to the ruins?” Hux inquired.

“Where else would I go? If we want to leave,” Kylo explained, “We’ll need that gold. By tomorrow morning, scavengers from all over will be here to try and find some. The more we can get now, the better.” Once his canteen was full, he rose, going back to Hux to give him another kiss.

“Alright but don’t stay away too long. You know Anakin hates it when you don’t eat dinner with us.”

“I know.” They kissed again, Kylo trying to keep it going for as long as possible as he knew Anakin was watching them and likely making a face of disgust at them. When they part, Kylo headed towards the window from which the child had been watching and ruffled his hair. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Before dinner time?”

“Before dinner time.”

“Promise?” The child asked, holding u his pinky to the man, a little tradition between the two. Kylo chuckled and wrapped his own pinky around it.

“Promise.” He kissed his cheek and headed off, waving to his family before going around the sand hill.

He made it to the ruins shortly before sundown, moving quickly to find the tunnel through which Anakin had crawled through, finding not a single soul among the ruins. He found the archway and tried to think of a potential path to the door from this vantage point. His first path led him to a dead end but the second lead him to the door. It was an extremely old door – he could tell from the chipping - but it was still sturdy and the lock appeared to be in good condition. He attempted to kick it down but it didn’t budge. He had only one other option after that but he wasn’t sure if it would work.

He shut his eyes and tried to focus on the Force, trying to feel the energy around him. He lifted his hand and boom… the door slammed open. With a proud smirk, Kylo strode into the room, his eyes peeled for any glimmer of metal on the floor. He found a few small items like rings and earrings but nothing as valuable as the necklace Anakin had found. He searched the floor over and over but he found no other items in an hour of searching. Exhausted, he sat down on the throne and drank the remainder of his water canteen. A few gold rings would not be enough to barter passage to Ge for all three of them. He would have to try again tomorrow, he decided; he was tired and it would be challenging to keep searching in the dark. Plus, he’d rather be at home with his family than out at night in the cold.

Safely storing the jewelry in the bag, he headed back towards his home, walking at a quicker pace than usual; he’d rather avoid the cold. By the time, he neared the hill, his nose was red from the cold and he was losing the feeling in the tips of his fingers. Looking up, he smiled at the sight of the stars and the gray string of smoke wafting up into the sky. No doubt it would be nice and warm inside.

When he emerged from around the hill, nothing seemed wrong at first sight. There was light emanating from the house, inviting him to come bask in the warmth and love of his family. But upon a closer look, he froze in his spot. There were jagged black stars in random spots in the sand, black smoke rising from them; remnants of blasters.

“No…” Kylo whispered in disbelief, beginning to run. It couldn’t have been the First Order. It couldn’t have been. “Hux! Ani!” He shouted but to his horror, no reply came. “Ani!” He tried again, shouting louder, “Hux!” He dashed into the house, finding it empty. “No, no, no, no, no!” He repeated the words over and over, running back out and looking out into the desert. “Ani! Hux!”

“Kylo.” A weak voice replied. The man ran for the sound and his stomach dropped when he found his lover lying in the sand, a blast injury on his abdomen and a bloodied hand on his chest. Kylo ran to him and collapsed next to him, spotting how the man was gasping for breath. "They took him. They took Ani!"

“Hold still!” Kylo hissed, examining the injury on his abdomen while trying to keep his emotions at bay. It was bleeding badly but it appeared to have missed the organs, meaning Hux would live if he stopped the bleeding. He ripped some of his clothing and was about to put it on the injury when Hux grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t.” He gasped, removing the bloodied hand he had over his heart, revealing another blast injury. “You can’t save me.” Kylo shook his head, refusing to believe it.

“Yes I can!” He cried. Hux smiled a little.

“You know you can’t. But you can save Ani.” With his waning strength, Hux took Kylo’s hand and held it tightly. “Promise me you’ll find him.” At first, the man shook his head, still wanting to deny that he would be gone soon and trying to lie to himself that they would find their son together. Hux held his hand a little tighter. “Promise me.” He pushed. Finally, Kylo, amidst his tears, nodded and leaned his forehead against Hux’s.

“I promise.” Kylo whispered, a slight crack in his voice. He still didn’t want to believe that his lover was dying but seeing the injury and how pale he was, Kylo knew it to be true.

“If you see Ani,” Hux started, holding the ring their son had given him out to his partner, “Give this to him and…” He took a shallow, shuddering breath, “And tell him I love him.” Kylo nodded once more and took the ring, afterwards taking Hux’s hand again, seeing that he was running out of time. “I love you.” He whispered, smiling when the former Knight let out a sound that was an odd mix of a laugh and a sob. He tried his best to kiss back when their lips met, feeling all the love the other man was pouring into it.

They remained in the kiss for as long as possible but eventually Hux stopped, Kylo feeling him breath out his last breath against his lips. When he pulled away, the man stared at his lover’s face, his blue eyes staring straight ahead and void of all life. With a shaking hand, Kylo closed his eyes before burying his face in his chest, sobbing loudly into the scorched fabric. He didn’t weep for long as indomitable hatred seethed through the man. As his tears turning to ones of anger, he took Hux’ face in his hands.

“I’ll find Snoke and I’ll bring Ani back. I promise.” He sealed the promise with another kiss, afterwards carrying Hux’s body back into their home and laying him down on their bed, placing his hands over the injury on his chest. Forcing the tears to stay back, Kylo headed outside, to the back of their house and began digging in the sand, ignoring the small particle getting stuck under his finger nails. After digging about 3 feet, his fingers scraped against something hard. Smiling, he dug more frantically and pulled out the item: a wooden chest. He opened it, laying his sight of his mask for the first time in seven years. They had kept the items of their past to remind themselves to never go back to the men that they were. He took out the helmet, his black clothing and Hux’s great coat, putting them all on, He then got some food and other necessities for his journey, not once looking at the dead body of his lover. Once ready, he looked at Hux through one of the windows.

“I love you.” He muttered and he turned around, walking away from the house forever. He headed to the trading post, everyone dashing out of his way as he approached out of feat towards his menacing look; no recognized him to be the kindly Kylo.

“The lightsaber. I want it.” Kylo told the merchant bluntly. The man stared at him for a moment before laughing, grabbing the lightsaber from its storage compartment.

“If you want this, you’re gonna have to pay.” He sneered, laughing for one brief second before he began choking from some invisible force. He looked at the dark man, one hand reached out in a choking position while the other was open, held out towards the weapon. It went flying from the merchant’s hand into Kylo’s free one, who released the choke hold the same instance.

He left the post without another word, the merchant sending no henchmen after him. Perhaps that was a good thing as Kylo would’ve killed them all. He would find his son and no one, not even Snoke, was going to stop him.


	2. A Promise Kept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little fun fact: the fight in this chapter is a mix of three iconic confrontations in the Star Wars franchise. One's from the prequels, another from the originals, and the last is from the sequel. If you can spot them, kudos to you!

The escapades of one individual rarely caught the attention of anyone. Frequently it was a brief murmur in a city’s market before it disappeared in light of a new, somewhat more exciting story. Rarely was one story ever embedded in the annals of local legend or reached a status beyond that.

The Lone Wanderer, is what they called him. A man dressed completely in black, his face covered by a mask and armed with a red lightsaber and baster wandering by himself from planet to planet, system to system searching for something. There were two theories on what he was searching for. The first claimed that he belonged to the Resistance, his objective to hunt down and kill First Order soldiers. The second, and by far the most popular, was that he was looking for his child who was stolen from him by the First Order.

Kylo both loved and hated the notoriety of his status as the Lone Wanderer. He loved it because it made many sympathetic to his search and easier to squeeze information out of; he hated it because he believed it to be one reason Snoke had managed to slip from his grasp for the past six years. The other reason was the limited information he was given. The most idea information would always come from a defector, which were hard to find as many of them were dead. If he was lucky to find a live one, they were often lower than a captain, who were just able to give info on bases and movement. Not where Snoke was hiding.

But in the sixth year his search, he was struck by an incredible stroke of luck. On Ge, he found a defector of the Knights of Ren who had once met Snoke in person

_Snoke is on Gani_ , he told Kylo.  _Be careful. Once you set foot in the palace, the Dark will pull you from each direction. Choose your words carefully and your actions even more so; one step too far and the Dark will devour you._

Excitement and desperation caused Kylo to barely heed the words. He jumped onto his ship and sped off to Gani; after six years, he finally had a chance to fulfill his promise and get his son back.

Anakin was thirteen, he realized. What was he like now? How much had he changed? Did Snoke pull him to the Dark side?

Did Snoke kill him?

A brief shiver ran down Kylo’s back at the thought that Anakin could be dead. It was a thought he quickly dismissed; if Snoke wanted him dead, he would’ve killed him back on Tatooine with his father.

Kylo tried to not think back on that day, the day where his life fell apart once more. He sometimes wondered what life would’ve been like if they had made the decision to go to Ge earlier, frequently picturing him and Hux living with Anakin as guests of the Queen. A safe and happy life.

He could have that if he found his son.

The journey to Gani took two days in which he barely ate or slept, the thought of Anakin the only thing driving him. According to the sensors, there was nothing on the planet in regards to buildings and communication lines. It did pick up a few jumbled signals of life but the heavy clouds prevented him from getting a clear signal. Upon landing, he found Gani to be a barren and flat planet. Dust and sand flew up with each step he took and there wasn’t as much as a hill or valley in sight. The only thing he saw was the dark, looming palace in the distance.

He entered the palace with his lightsaber drawn, immediately feeling the Darkness burning inside him, trying to poison his mind once more with lies of superiority. The temptation to give in was powerful but he resisted, his mind grasping onto all the Light with all its strength.

The hallways were filled with the echoes of Kylo’s footsteps, the man moving down it slowly. Once he saw an end to it, he retracted his saber, the immediate area around him falling into darkness. At the end of the hallway was a large room, it completely empty expect for a single throne at the opposite end, the one path to it crossing over a large crevice. Sensing the presence of someone once he set foot in the room, Kylo hid near the stairs to his immediate right. From his hiding spot, he heard footsteps. Strong, powerful. A figure dressed in the garb of a Knight of Ren entered his sight, walking briskly over the bridge towards the throne. Halfway on the bridge, he stopped.

“Why do you hide from me?” The figure asked in his distorted voice, looking over his shoulder to Kylo’s hiding place. “There’s no point; I can feel you.” Slowly, the man comes from his hiding spot, his lightsaber in hand but not drawn. “Kylo-Ren. I have been expecting you.”

“Where’s Anakin?” Kylo demanded, walking onto the bridge.

“Your son is gone.” The Knight replied, standing calmly with his hands behind his back. “He was weak and foolish like his father. So I destroyed him.”

“Liar.” Kylo seethed. He took of his mask, tossing the heavy object behind him, “Take off your mask; I want to see your face as I kill you.”

“An unusual and insignificant request which can be easily granted.” The Knight reached up and unclicked his helmet. Once he took it off, Kylo flinched at what he saw.

“Anakin?” It had to be him; he looked too much like the son he had lost all those years ago. The same hair, the same eyes, the same nose; everything was identical except the red flush on his cheeks from what he assumed was the oncoming of pubescent acne. The teen frowned.

“I told you.” He snapped, his voice deeper but cracking the slightest, “Your son is gone. I destroyed him.”

“Is that you talking or Snoke?” Kylo questioned, smirking when he noticed the child flinch for a brief instance. "It’s what Snoke wants you to believe but I know it isn’t true because my son is standing right here, in front of me.” He smirked a little wider when he sensed the uncertainty in Anakin’s mind.

“You’re wrong. The Supreme Leader knows me for who I am and who I can become. He knows you for what you are. You’re a defector and a traitor.”

“Yes, I am a defector.” Kylo concurred, the distance between him and his son becoming less with each step he took. “But he never told you why I defected. Did he? Well, I’ll tell you.” He clipped his lightsaber back into his belt, “Snoke told me the same things he told you. He turned me against everything and everyone that I loved, turned me over to the dark side. I thought he saw potential in me and that he was going to make me the greatest Sith in history but in reality, he was using my abilities for his own gain. Had I stayed, he would’ve crushed me once he had no use for me anymore.” He paused, carefully watching Anakin’s expression, which displayed doubt. “You know it’s true.” He stood face-to-face with the teen now, “If you have half the perception of your father, you know I’m telling the truth because, unlike Snoke, I have nothing to gain from it.” The boy was silent, staring up at the man with water brimming his eyes.

“It’s too late for me.”

“No, it’s not.” Kylo placed a hand on his shoulder, “It wasn’t too late for me; it certainly isn’t too late for you. Come with me; we can be a family again.” A tear fell down his cheek.

“I’m being torn apart.” Anakin said with a crack in his voice. “I want it to stop. I want to be free from this – this pain.” A strange sensation grew as his son spoke, the man watching his past repeat. Kylo knew what would come next and that he would end up dead if he repeated the actions and thoughts of his own father. “I know what I need to do but I don’t know if I can do it.” The child stared down at his feet, like he always did when he was younger. “Will you help me?”

“Yes.” Kylo embraced his son, his heart both soaring and dying when he felt him embrace him back. “Anything.” When they pulled apart, Kylo watched his son drop his helmet, the adult carefully unclipping his saber at the same moment. Anakin wiped his eyes with his gloved hands and unclipped his own lightsaber, holding it out his father. The man immediately spotted that, if activated, the weapon would run him through. He grabbed the weapon, waiting for the other to let go.

He didn’t.

The instant Anakin had a tight grip on the lightsaber, Kylo pushed it to the side, grunting when the blade grazed his side. When he looked at his son, it was as if he was looking at a stranger, his face so twisted with anger and hatred.

“Well done.” A loud voice praised, it accompanied with clapping. “Very well done, Kylo Ren.” The former Knight looked up and spotted Snoke perched on his throne smirking.

“Snoke.” He growled.

“I have been expecting you.” He lifted his hand, “Ylox Ren, lower your weapon; it is not needed.” Anakin nodded and retracted his lightsaber. “I knew you would come back to your old Master; the Dark called you back to me.”

“You’re mistaken.” Kylo sneered, walking past his son and heading towards the throne, glaring at the Supreme Leader, “You won’t convert me to the Dark. Not again. Neither are you taking my son from me.”

“Your son can never be turned from the Dark Side.”

“You’re wrong.” Kylo snapped, his anger nearly exploding in him but he tried to hold it in. He couldn’t give in to it.  _One step too far and the Dark will devour you._ The seated man began to chuckle.

“Yes.” Snoke cooed, “The hate is swelling in you now. Take your weapon; use it; strike me down with it; give in to your anger.” Kylo looked down at the saber, noticing his hands were shaking from fury.

“No.”

“It is your destiny.” His venomous words continued. “Strike me down; end my control over your child.” That was the breaking point. With a yell, Kylo swung his saber to deliver a killing blow to the Supreme Leader. He was parried before he could strike by Anakin, the child panting from exertion. The man pushed him away, hearing Snoke chuckle.

“Excellent, Kylo Ren. Let the hate flow through you.” His breath shuddering, Kylo’s gaze turned from Snoke to his son to his saber, realizing what he was doing. What Snoke was trying to do. As he looked back towards his son, Kylo retracted his lightsaber.

“I will not fight you, Anakin.” He said firmly, watching as his son slowly came towards him, his lightsaber still lit.

“Those years on Tatooine and years roaming the galaxy have clearly dulled your senses. Only an idiot would lower their defenses!” The teen swung and Kylo blocked the blow, groaning from the pain rampaging from the injury on his side. The man swung recklessly repeatedly, the child blocking each strike with the elegance of a Master. The man saw his son was slowly pushing him into a corner and jumped onto a nearby platform before he gained that advantage.

“Your thoughts betray you, Ani. I feel the doubt in you.” Kylo said while staring at his son.

“There is no doubt!” Anakin threw his lightsaber, Kylo dashing away as he thought it had been intended to strike him. Instead, the lightsaber destroyed the support beams, causing the platform to collapse. Ignoring the initial shock and pain, Kylo dashed for the shadows and hid from his son.

“You cannot hide forever.” Anakin warned, his lightsaber at the ready as he searched for the man.

“I will not fight you.” Kylo replied, trying to silence his breath so he wouldn’t hear him, “I promised your father I would get you back.”

“Your promise is endearing but foolish. Perhaps if you had managed to save my ‘father’, you would’ve succeeded in keeping your promise. He failed to ‘protect’ me from the soldiers and now you have failed to retrieve me. Your lover died in vain and it’s all your fault.”

“NO!” Kylo shouted, dashing out of hiding and attempting to plunge his saber into Anakin’s back. He dodged and striked back with a swing of his own weapon, sensing the overwhelming anger oozing from the elder man. Kylo had lost all sense of control, his anger and frustration making him hack and cut at Anakin, caring little if he was hurt in the process. His mad slashes forced Anakin to retreat over and over but the years of practice saved him from injury. Because of his reckless fighting, Kylo became exhausted quickly and his moves became more and more sloppy.

Anakin smirked when he noticed the man make idiotic moves and managed to par and lock his opponent’s blade in place.

“This is the end for you,  _father_.” He seethed. Kylo glared back and jumped onto a nearby platform, giving him a slight advantage of height.

“No, Anakin! This is the end for you; I have the high ground!”

“You underestimate my power!”

“Don’t try it!” With a yell, Anakin jumped, lifting his saber to deliver the killing blow. Kylo lifted his own, stepping to the side to dodge and parry. He swung but when Anakin landed, the teen’s lightsaber turned off and he howled in pain. From the red light, Kylo gasped when he saw that Anakin’s right arm had been cut off at the shoulder. The man’s hands began to shake, gaping at the lightsaber in his hand, the weapon that had amputated his son’s arm. Snoke chuckled in the background, it turning Kylo’s attention.

“Your hate has made you powerful.” He praised, rising from his throne and gliding towards the fighter, “Now, fulfill your destiny. Retake your rightful place at my side.”

_Kill him_

His rage wanted him to do it. It wanted to be released and the teen lying on the floor, crippled and weak, was such an easy target. But staring down at him, every good memory of him began to flash in his mind. His unending smile at the knowledge that he had the Force; his excitement when he salvaged a valuable item; his sweet voice muttering ‘I love you’ before bedtime. Every moment attacked his rage and took it apart piece by piece, leaving behind guilt for his actions, the undying love for his son, and his determination to save him. Kylo turned to Snoke, turning off his weapon.

“Never.” He tossed the saber away, “I’m never going back to the Dark.” The smirk on the Supreme Leader’s face disappeared.

“So be it.” Snoke raised his hands towards Kylo, “If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed.” Lightning spewed from the man’s hands, striking Kylo. The man screamed out in pain and fell down, writhing on the floor while the lightning rampaged through every inch of his body. “You will pay the price for your insolence.” He increased he intensity, smirking when the man hollered even louder in pain. Kylo could feel life being pulled from him and, with blurred vision, he looked at his son.

“Ani, please.” He begged quietly before howling at the increase of pain. He couldn’t see his son after that, couldn’t feel him question everything he had been told the last six years, couldn’t see him switch his gaze from his father to his master and back.

“Stop!” He heard Anakin yell and Kylo just barely saw his son grab his lightsaber and run Snoke through from behind. The lightning immediately stopped attacking Kylo and was now aimed at Anakin. The teen screamed but he held tight to his weapon, striking Snoke again.

“Don’t. Touch. My. Son!” Kylo screamed, running to Snoke and pulling him away from Anakin and, with his remaining strength, pushing him off the bridge and into the crevice before collapsing.

Everything fell silent, Kylo only aware of his own ragged breathing and the tingling sensation of the lightning emanating in his body before it vanished. A sob was the first sound that he heard, knowing immediately who had made it.

“Anakin.” He called, scrambling up to his feet, grunting from his injuries, and running to the boy. He was kneeling on the floor, his hand grabbing onto the stump while his shoulders shook, his lightsaber off and tossed to the side. Kylo pulled the boy to him and embraced him tightly.

“It hurts.” The boy whimpered, leaning into the adult and burying his face into his chest. The man gently moved the child’s hand off of the injury, finding that majority of it had been cauterized by the strike, only a small portion of it bleeding

“I’m so sorry.” Kylo whispered. The two made eye contact, the child giving him a tiny smile.

“It’s okay.” He whispered, “You didn’t mean to.” A tear came from Kylo’s eye and he leaned down to kiss his son’s forehead.

“We’ll get a new arm for you.” He promised, carefully standing up and picking his son up bridal style. He proceeded towards the exit, overwhelmed by various emotions. He had fulfilled his promise to Hux; he had Anakin back.

“Your lightsaber.” The teen muttered, trying to look around his father’s chest.

“It’s okay, Ani. I don’t need it anymore.” He nodded and relaxed. The rest of the journey was silent, the two only exchanging glances as they headed back to the ship. Kylo lay his son down in the tiny med bay and covered up his stump to stop the bleeding. Once that was done, he took a look at his own injury which only needed a tiny bit of attention.

“Where are we going now? Tatooine?” Anakin asked once he was done with his own injury. Kylo shook his head and sat down beside his bed.

“There’s nothing left for us there, Ani.” He explained. “Besides, there’s no one there who can treat your arm.”

“Then... where will we go?”

“Ge.” Kylo replied, “Your father and I talked about going there; he had a friend there who would help us.” He stroked Anakin’s hair when he saw how sad he looked. “He wanted you to know that he loved you very much. And he wanted me to give you this.” He tugged a necklace out from under his clothing and pulled it over his head. It was a simple necklace, consisting of a long black string and a single gold ring. Tears in his eyes, Anakin took it.

“That was the ring I gave to him, wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was. I never took it off these six years.”

“Really?” With confirmation, Anakin sniffed, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Being under the harsh command of Snoke for so long, he had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be loved. He tried to put the necklace on but had difficulty doing it so Kylo helped him. For a long time, they exchanged no words, both of them staring at the ring and remembering all the wonderful memories of their life together with Hux. “I miss him.”

“Me too, Ani. Me too.” The silence engulfed them once more until Kylo rose and adjusted the blankets on his bed. “Get some rest. I’ll come get you when we get there. Okay?”

“Okay.” The man smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Dad?” Anakin called out before he left the room. “I love you.” Kylo looked back at his son, his heart soaring at the words and the realization that his son was truly back.

“I love you too.”


End file.
